The invention relates, generally, to data processing systems and telecommunication systems, and, more specifically, to a technique for matching Internet telephone calls with legacy call centers.
The worldwide web and Internet, in general, have created a completely new venue in which to obtain information, purchase services and goods, etc. Accordingly, many vendors of products and services have established web sites containing information about products, services, etc., including xe2x80x9c1-800xe2x80x9d telephone numbers which connect via public switched telephone networks to traditional call center apparatus and E-mail addresses which connect via the Internet to the vendor""s website or electronic mailbox. Due to the disparity between the architecture and addressing protocols utilized by traditional public switch telephone networks, i.e. a circuit-switched telephone network, and the Internet, i.e. a packet-switched data network, it has been previously difficult to establish a real-time communication link between a user exploring a website with a browser and an actual human operator at a call center. Existing call center apparatus already in place at a vendor""s location, i.e. a xe2x80x9clegacyxe2x80x9d call center such as a Galaxy call center product line, commercially available from Rockwell International, Downers Grove, Ill., is accessible via traditional public switched telephone networks, i.e. a circuit-switched network. The same vendor""s website, however, may only be accessible via the Internet, i.e. a packet-switched data network.
Circuit-switched networks operate by establishing a dedicated connection or circuit between two points, similar to public switched telephone networks(PSTN). A telephone call causes a circuit to be established from the originating phone through the local switching office across trunk lines, to a remote switching office and finally to the intended destination telephone. While such circuit is in place, the call is guaranteed a data path for digitized or analog voice signals regardless of other network activity.
In contrast, packet-switched networks typically connect computers and establish an asynchronous xe2x80x9cvirtualxe2x80x9d channel between two points. In a packet-switched network, data, such as a voice signal, is divided into small pieces called packets which are then multiplexed onto high capacity connections for transmission. Network hardware delivers packets to specific destinations where the packets are reassembled into the original data set. With packet-switched networks, multiple communications among different computers can proceed concurrently with the network connections shared by different pairs of computers concurrently communicating. Packet-switched networks are, however, sensitive to network capacity. If the network becomes overloaded, there is no guarantee that data will be timely delivered. Despite this drawback, packet-switched networks have become quite popular, particularly as part of the Internet and Intranets, due to their cost effectiveness and performance.
In a packet-switched data network one or more common network protocols hide the technological differences between individual portions of the network, making interconnection between portions of the network independent of the underlying hardware and/or software. A popular network protocol, the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is utilized by the Internet and Intranets. Intranets are private networks such as Local Area Networks (LANs) and Wide Area Networks (WAN). The TCP/IP protocol utilizes universal addressing as well as a software protocol to map the universal addresses into low level machine addresses. For purposes of this discussion, networks which adhere to the TCP/IP protocol will be referred to hereinafter xe2x80x9cIP-basedxe2x80x9d or as utilizing xe2x80x9cIP addressesxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cInternet Protocol addressxe2x80x9d.
As a result, a potential purchaser of goods or services has had to establish two separate communication connections, one connection to a vendor""s website to view on-line information, and a second connection over traditional PSTN network to the vendor""s 1-800 number for connection to a human operator via a legacy call center. Given the substantial costs of existing call center apparatus and the investments made therein by vendors, many vendors are unwilling to discard or replace their existing legacy call centers to accommodate the ever-increasing on-line group of on-line consumers.
Accordingly, a need exists for a technique by which a caller may establish a single communication connection to view both a vendor""s on-line information and to interact directly with an operator at an existing legacy call center facility.
A further need exists for a manner in which the existing installed based of legacy call centers may be utilized to respond to calls originating from both a PSTN network and from the Internet.
An additional need exists for a manner in which call center operators may converse with a caller over a DSTN legacy call center connection for audio communications while exchanging data and other on-line information with the same caller through a packet-switched connection.
The present invention provides a technique for matching Internet telephone calls originating on a packet-switched data network with legacy automatic call distribution centers on a public-switched telephone network. A packet-switched call on an Internet Protocol-based network is delivered to a gateway. The gateway places a corresponding call over a circuit-switched network to legacy a call center. The gateway provides an identifier to the call center apparatus identifying which port at the gateway the IP-based call is waiting. When available, the call center apparatus routes the circuit-switched call to an agent. When the agent answers the circuit-switched call, the identifier is presented to the agent and entered into call matching software which establishes a packet-switched data communication back to the appropriate port of the gateway. The agent may then communicate audio data with the caller over a traditional PSTN call center apparatus while sharing video and other type of data over a packet-switched data network. The gateway splits and rejoins the two disparate data types into a single connection back to the caller.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a method for use with a gateway apparatus operatively coupling a packet-switched data network to a circuit-switched communication network comprises the steps of receiving a first packet switch call from a calling process, assigning the first packet-switched call to one of the gateway ports, establishing a communication connection to terminating apparatus over the circuit-switched and to terminating apparatus over the circuit-switched network, providing the terminating apparatus with information identifying the first packet-switched call and establishing a dual communication path from the terminating apparatus to the call process over the circuit-switched communication network and the packet-switched data network, in response to a second packet-switched call from the terminating apparatus. In one embodiment, the information identifying the first packet-switched call comprises information identifying the gateway and the communication port at which the first call is queued. In another embodiment, the step of providing information identifying the first call comprises generating a series of signals which may be audible signals or DTMF signals.
In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, a computer program product for the use with gateway computer system operatively coupling a packet-switched data network to a circuit-switched communication network comprises a computer usable medium having program code embodied thereon, the program code comprising code for receiving a first packet-switched call from a call process, program code for signing the first packed-switched call to one of the communication ports, program code for establishing a communication connection over the circuit-switched network to a terminating apparatus, program code for providing a terminating apparatus with information identifying the first call, and program code responsive to a second packet-switched call from the terminating apparatus, for establishing a dual communication path from the terminating apparatus to the gateway over both the packet-switched data networks and the circuit-switched communication network. In one embodiment, the computer program product further comprises program code for establishing a point-to-point communication connection with a process over a packet-switched data network.
In accordance with a third aspect of the invention, an apparatus for facilitating communications between packet-switched networks and circuit-switched communication networks comprises a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, a first network interface operatively coupling the processor and memory to a packet-switched data network, the first network interface having a plurality of communication ports, a second network interface operatively coupling a processor and memory to a circuit-switched communication network, and identification module operatively coupled to the second network interface and configured to generate identification signals, means responsive to an incoming packet-switched call for assigning a packet-switched call to one of the communication ports, and means for translating data from the circuit-switched communication network to the packet-switched data network. In one embodiment, the identification module comprises means for generating identification signals in the auditory range of human hearing or in DTMF format. In another embodiment, the identification signal comprise information identifying the server apparatus and information identifying one of the communication ports on a server apparatus.
In accordance with a fourth aspect of the invention, a computer program product for use with a computer system operatively coupled to a gateway apparatus over a packet-switched data network comprising a computer usable medium having computer program code embodied thereon, the computer code comprises program code for receiving information identifying a first packet-switched call, program code for resolving the information for identifying the packet-switched call into an identifier of the gateway at which the first call is queued, and program code for establishing a point-to-point communication connection to the gateway over the packet-switched data network.